Three-dimensionally printed organs are pretty old hat by now. But while the technology has been applied to everything from artificial ears to replacement brain tissue , working ovaries have been outside the realm of possibility—until now, that is. Scientists from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering have developed “bioprosthetic” ovary structures that allowed infertile mice to not only ovulate but also birth and nurse healthy offspring, according to a paper published this week in the journal Nature Communications . Composed of rapid-prototyped gelatin scaffolds, and primed with immature eggs, the bioprosthetic ovaries successfully boosted the hormone production necessary for restoring fertility in the mice, researchers said. “This research shows these bioprosthetic ovaries have long-term, durable function,” Teresa K. Woodruff, a reproductive scientist and director of the Women’s Health Research Institute at Feinberg, said in a statement. “Using bioengineering, instead of transplanting from a cadaver, to create organ structures that function and restore the health of that tissue for that person, is the holy grail of bioengineering for regenerative medicine.” Related: Organovo’s Bioprinter Technology Could Lead to 3D Printed Human Organs Woodruff and company plan to test the structures in pigs, with an eye toward human trials in the future. The technology could have significant implications for women with fertility issues, particularly cancer patients who often lose their ovarian function after intensive chemotherapy. “What happens with some of our cancer patients is that their ovaries don’t function at a high enough level and they need to use hormone replacement therapies in order to trigger puberty,” said Monica Laronda, co-author of the study and a former post-doctoral fellow in the Woodruff lab. “The purpose of this scaffold is to recapitulate how an ovary would function. We’re thinking big picture, meaning every stage of the girl’s life, so puberty through adulthood to a natural menopause.” + Northwestern University Photo by Duncan Hull

Comments Off on Organovo’s Bioprinter Technology Could Lead to 3D Printed Human Organs

Organovo Holdings , a San Diego, CA-based manufacturer of 3-dimensional human tissues, recently announced a partnership with 3D-software company Autodesk Inc. to develop the first 3D design software for bioprinting. The new software will be used to control Organovo’s NovoGen MMX Bioprinter , which produces “living human tissues that are three-dimensional, architecturally correct, and made entirely of living human cells,” according to the firm. Currently, Organovo’s tissues are used by selected research partners for biological research and drug testing, but the company believes its 3D bioprinting technology “also holds great promise for creating direct tissue therapies… The long-term goal is to create tissues intended for direct therapeutic use to augment or replace damaged or degenerating organs.” The development of bioprinted organs could be a godsend for the 114,300 people currently on the waiting list for organ transplants, 18 of whom die every day, according to company background materials. The MMX is a hardware and software platform designed for biological research that is particularly used by pharmaceutical firms for drug discovery. Company background materials say that the MMX “takes primary or other human cells and shapes them into [functional] 3D tissue, with tremendous cellular viability and biology that is superior to even an animal model.” Organovo’s bioprinting process involves growing cells in a culture, then collecting and incubating them to form “bio-ink” that consists of “cells and the building blocks to form a functional organ system in vitro.” The bio-ink is loaded into a cartridge, which in turn is placed into the printer. The printer deposits the bio-ink according to the desired design programmed in the controlling software. Organovo says it has worked with several tissue types, including blood vessels, cardiac muscle, bone, lung, liver, and kidney. Because organs are so complex, Organovo says it’s difficult to predict which might be the first engineered organ. In background materials, the company says, “Tissues such as blood vessel segments, nerve grafts, bone/cartilage pieces, and assist patches for a compromised heart or kidney are examples of what could be a first reduction-to-practice for the technology.” Organovo says that its work with Autodesk will continue throughout 2013. While the details are proprietary, the company says it expects the relationship “to lead to advances in bioprinting, including both greater flexibility and throughput with our internal development, and the potential long-term ability for customers to design their own 3D tissues for production by Organovo.” + Organovo Photos courtesy of Organovo Holdings Inc.

Comments Off on “Party Wall” Made of Skateboard Scraps Wins MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program Competition

Every year, New Yorkers look forward to MoMA PS1′s Warm Up parties as a symbol of summer fun, and it looks like they’ll be in for a treat once again. The Long Island City museum recently announced the winner of its Young Architects Program Competition , which picks one design that will be built as the venue for the concert series, and Ithaca-based CODA took the crown this year with their “Party Wall” made of skateboard manufacturing scraps . Read on to learn more about this elegant but still edgy pavilion ! READ MORE > Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: Caroline O’Donnell , coda , coda moma ps1 , coda party wall , coda ps1 , Comet skateboards , eco design , green design , Long Island City , MoMA PS1 , moma ps1 party wall , Party Wall , party wall coda , Pedro Gadanho , PS1 warm up , Recycled Materials , sustainable design , Warm up series , young architects program